Racing to Class

Throughout our time in Brazil, we have heard that the most common argument against race based affirmative action is that the problems faced by Afro-Brazilians are problems of class, not race. Over and over again, this argument has been redeployed. It is based on the myth of racial democracy, which claims that racism does not exist in Brazil.

Racial democracy is a powerful and alluring message. It reifies the dream of living in a world void of discrimination and difference, a place where we are all brothers and sisters. I believe that we aspire for this dream. Unfortunately, this utopia is nothing more than a dream. Brazil, not unlike the United States, is a nation filled with racism.

Why is class based discrimination more palatable? Discrimination is discrimination, is it not? I’m not entirely sure as to the answer. Is it because class discrimination is seen as easier to remedy? Is it social mobility, which allows for the possibility of lower class individuals to rise to the higher classes? Or is it the invidious nature of racism and the fact that, unlike class, race cannot be changed during one’s lifetime (I admit this is not entirely true)? Maybe we see class discrimination as natural or institutionalized, thus not resulting from individual action or behavior?

Whatever the reason, it is clear that many people in Brazil refuse to acknowledge the racial problems. Although groups of activists have strengthened calls for a dialogue on race and racism, these calls often fall on deaf ears. We can see similar occurrences in the U.S. In response to Senator Barack Obama’s recent speech incorporating race, Patrick Buchanan expressed disgust at any acknowledgment of racism in the U.S. targeting blacks. “America has been the best country on earth for black folks,” Buchanan asserts right before dismissing the brutality of slavery as fair compensation for being introduced to “Christian salvation.” Basically, Buchanan denies racism in American (well, not all racism, as he whines about anti-white discrimination in the form of affirmative action.) His arguments are extreme and thus difficult to take seriously, but they illustrate the violently adverse reactions discussing racism invokes. The question remains, what is it about race that prevents us from having a mature discussion?

Another curious aspect of racism is the incentive to deny its existence and the strength of that denial. To claim that racism exists means to accuse somebody of being racist, which may be uncomfortable and increase tension. Even the victims of racism often search for some other explanation, possibly because they do not want to admit that the racial democracy they had believed in was nothing more than a seductive illusion.